


Holding My Universe in My Arms

by RaindropssandRosess



Series: Malec One-Shots [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alpha Alec Lightwood, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas tree shopping, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Fluff, Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, High Warlock of Alicante Magnus Bane, Immortal Alec Lightwood, Inquisitor Alec Lightwood, M/M, Mpreg, Omega Magnus Bane, POV Alec Lightwood, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, True Mates, like literally this is pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25939132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaindropssandRosess/pseuds/RaindropssandRosess
Summary: Magnus has a very special Christmas Eve planned for his husband.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Malec One-Shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1882579
Comments: 19
Kudos: 211





	Holding My Universe in My Arms

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovelies! So I often find myself with writer's block while working on my longer fics, and I tend to opt towards writing one-shots to help clear it. So I decided to start a series of random, unrelated one-shots and post them for all of ya'lls reading pleasure. I promise that none of my other works are being abandoned! I am 10000% committed to seeing everything that I start through to the finish- but in the meantime I hope that you enjoy these! And if you ever have a particular scene in mind that you'd like to see- drop it to me in the comments and I'll see what I can do (any situation, any rating!) Anyways- enjoy! xoxo

“So why exactly are we doing this again?” Alec Lightwood asked, even as he struggled to bite back a smile at the excitement on his husband’s face.

“Because darling, it’s Christmas Eve!” He exclaimed with a clap of his gloved hands, his cheeks and nose both rosy from the cold as he turned, bringing them both to a stop.

Alec grinned and took a moment to admire Magnus, all wrapped up in a knee-length navy, double breasted trench coat, with matching sleek grey cashmere gloves, a scarf and a hat to keep out the winter chill. His golden skin had a dark rosy tint and his eyes sparkled with excitement and love, sending enough warmth through Alec to ward away the coldest of New York winters. Unable to spend another moment looking at him without touching the person who’d become the singularly most important and brightest part of his life, he stepped forward and tugged Magnus closer, heart beating at the soft knowing smile that emerged on his mate’s face as he wrapped his arms around his husband.

“But couldn’t the High Warlock of Alicante just conjure up a lit tree so we could spend the night cuddled up in front of the fire drinking hot chocolate and watching Christmas movies?”

“Please, you know how we get, we’d be cuddled up drinking cocoa and watching Christmas movies _after_ you had your way with me on the rug in front of said fire.” He remarked flippantly, his hand waving lazily in the air and rolling his eyes at the shit-eating grin and the over-the top wink Alec sent his way before continuing, “And I suppose he could…” Magnus trailed off as though he was actually considering it, before the corners of his mouth drew down into the unimaginably adorable pout that he _knew_ Alec could never say no to. “But doesn’t the Inquisitor want to make his husband happy by creating new holiday traditions?”

“I always want to make you happy, Mags,” he breathed, watching as their breath fogged up the air between them. Magnus smiled and pressed up on his toes so he could brush a light kiss to Alec’s lips.

“You make me unbelievably happy, darling. But we’ve both been so busy with work, and I know we have an _eternity_ ahead us and that I usually just conjure up a tree but…” he trailed off and his eyes suddenly darted around nervously. 

“But what, baby?”

Magnus bit at his bottom lip and the tiny twitching in the corner of his left eye clued Alec into the fact that he wasn’t telling the whole truth when he said, “but I want us to have traditions like this… you know? Lightwood-Bane Christmas Eve Tree Shopping -I like it. But of course if you don’t angel then we can just-” 

He was cut off when Alec pushed forward to capture his lips in a demanding kiss. Magnus moaned softly as he let Alec work his mouth with an achingly perfect familiarity. Taking the opportunity that Magnus’ moan presented, he swept his tongue into Magnus’ mouth wrapping it around Magnus’ and tugging gently, their mouths moving together as their bodies pressed closer. He pulled away reluctantly when the distant sound of a child screaming delightedly reminded him that they were in public. Alec’s mouth chased after his own, and Magnus chuckled before leaning back in and pressing a shorter, more chaste kiss to his Alpha’s mouth, unable to help himself from nipping at the kiss swollen bottom lip of his mate’s mouth, a shiver running through him at the low growl that his action pulled from Alec’s mouth. 

Magnus nuzzled into the side of Alec’s neck, breathing in the familiar strong masculine scent of bergamot, myrrh, spicy cedar, well-oiled leather and strong roasted coffee with an undertone of musk that was purely Alec. He felt his inner Omega roll over delightedly as he unashamedly pressed his nose to his mate’s scent gland, breathing in the scent that his body craved as much as air. 

Alec’s Alpha preened as his mate unapologetically basked in his scent and used the opportunity to pull down Magnus’ scarf and press his own nose into the arch of Magnus’ neck breathing in the intoxicating scent of sandalwood, highlighted by notes of cinnamon, cardamom and clove; and more recently a sweet vanilla that was intoxicating, Alec had been having more trouble than usual in keeping his hands to himself. Unable to help himself, he pressed a possessive kiss over the mating mark that stood as a stark reminder of the bond that they shared, the bond that he still couldn’t believe, even after 15 years, had shared with him his mate’s immortality and thus gifting them a forever. 

“I love you my omega,” he breathed, his eyelashes fluttering closed. 

“I love you too, Alpha,” Magnus responded softly, pressing close for a moment before retreating. 

This time when Magnus pulled away, Alec let him, unwrapping his arms from around him, but scooping up his hand to thread their gloved fingers together. He chuckled as Magnus grumbled about distracting Alphas and offered nothing in the way of resistance as his husband dragged and weaved him through the rows of still-in the ground trees that you cut yourself, dismissing every single one that Alec pointed out. 

_Alexander, it’s too short._

_That one’s too tall, it will look silly positioned in front of the windows. And no we cannot simply put it somewhere else!_

_That one’s too skinny._

_No darling, it’s too green. Yes there’s such a thing as too green, just like there’s such a thing as too much black, although if 15 years of telling you that still hasn’t made it stick I don’t know what will._

_That one’s not green enough, there’s too much of a yellow tint which will class with our Christmas pajamas in the photos._

_It won’t look right with the shape of the ornaments._

“What do you mean it doesn’t give off Christmas-ey vibes? It’s a Christmas tree!”

“No Alexander, it’s just not right!” His voice is a disappointed whimper and his mouth turns down in upset. 

“Babe, we’ve been here for almost two hours. You haven’t seen a single tree that you like and we’re almost at the end of the lot.”

He grew alarmed when he saw Magnus’ bottom lip tremble and the tears well up in the corner of those brown eyes. 

“Magnus,” he breaths in concern, quickly leading him off the trail and away from anyone else, not paying attention to where they’re going, only knowing how much his love would hate having others witness the break in his picture-perfect public façade. 

When Alec pulls them to a stop, Magnus immediately throws himself against Alec’s chest, his entire body shaking as he sobbed silently against Alec’s jacket. “Shhh, love it’s okay,” he had no idea what was going on, but Magnus’ emotions seemed to be slightly out of whack the last few weeks. His job was always more stressful in the weeks before major holidays so Alec had grown used to the somewhat random and seemingly unfounded cresting of emotions lately. He pressed Magnus’ head gently into his neck, releasing subtle waves of comforting pheromones as he held Magnus close and stroked a hand soothingly up and down. He could feel the dampness of his husband’s tears against his skin, and, just as it always did, it broke a tiny piece of his heart to see the love of his now-immortal life in any kind of pain. When he felt the wracking of his body’s slimmer frame begin to ease, and heard the tiny wet sniffles take place of the near silent sobs, he spoke. 

“Tell me what’s wrong Omega. What’s going on sweetheart, huh? What can I do to make this better?”

Magnus heaved a deep breath against him and shifted slightly closer. He didn’t move his head from where he was still nuzzling into Alec’s throat but he could feel the hot moisture of his breath as he murmured quietly, “I’m sorry. I- lately I’m just… Alec I’m sorry-” his voice wavered at the end and Alec could tell he was close to tears again. 

“Love, don’t apologize. I just don’t know what’s going on and I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me baby. Talk to me baby, please,” he pleaded softly. His arms still around Magnus, he peeled his glove off of his right hand and nudged a finger under his chin, pulling back slightly as he gently pushed his chin up to look at him. “Talk to me,” he repeated gently. 

“Lilith, this is so ridiculous, Alexander I’m sorry. This is supposed to be fun and happy and festive and I’m ruining it,” his chin wavered and Alec could see him valiantly fighting back the tears that were re-accumulating. He brushed his thumb gently under one eye, and then the other, cupping his cheek and holding him still as he leaned forward and captured his lips in an adoring, loving, tender kiss. He felt Magnus relax further and he spoke into his mouth, their lips brushing against each other as he talked. 

“Magnus you haven’t ruined anything. Anything I do is automatically fun and happy as long as I’m doing it with you. Every single moment in my life that’s worth remembering has you in it. What I was doing before I met you couldn’t even be considered living. So please don’t ever think that you or your feelings could ruin anything for me. You and your feelings are one of the biggest, if not the sole reason for almost every minute of pure, unadulterated happiness in my life.”

Magnus looked at Alec in awe, a watery, hesitant smile breaking through, “Even after 15 years of marriage, and 17 years of loving you- you never cease to amaze me, you know that?”

“Lucky me I have centuries ahead of us to keep shocking you with my amazingness,” he grinned. 

“Lucky me you were crazy enough to decide to accept the bond and become immortal.”

“From the moment you finally broke down and confessed you wanted a forever with me, there was never a single question about it.”

“You’re a sap,” Magnus shook his head and grinned, a snap of his fingers had his face perfectly done up, any signs of tears or puffiness gone. 

“I’m not denying that. Now that we’ve addressed that- do you want to share with me what had you breaking down in tears in the middle of a Christmas tree farm?”

Magnus pouted, “the tree has to be perfect.”

“Okay…” he drawled slowly. “For the record, the tree will be perfect as long as it’s in our home, and we get to spend our Christmas looking at it together. But,” he stressed, holding a finger against Magnus’ mouth as he opened it to argue, “But why does it have to be perfect?”

“Because it’s our first Christmas as a f-” he cut off abruptly. 

“As a what?” Alec asked, eyebrows knit together as his mind turned over Magnus’ words. This Christmas wasn’t a first for them in anyway. It wasn’t their first Christmas together, or as husbands, or even in the new jobs. And they were still in New York because his brilliant husband had re-engineered his invention of the portal to create a portal room directly from their loft to their offices in Idris. 

“Just.. forget it. For now. Please Alpha, I just need it to be perfect,” his lips turned down into that tempting pout, his warm golden eyes widened, and his eyelashes fluttered. 

“I know what you’re doing, you know that right?” 

“Whatever do you mean?” He asked innocently.

Alec rolled his eyes because he knew that his naughty little omega knew exactly what he was doing. “The mouth, the eyes- Magnus you _Alpha-ed me._ ”

His husband smirked, “Is it working?”

Alec growled and leaned forward to bite down on the tempting flesh of that pouting lower lip, “Yes.”

Magnus grinned brilliantly and turned to walk away, squeaking when his Alpha reached out to lay a light slap to his ass. 

“You know, I think that with the right incentive, I can get behind _Lightwood-Bane Christmas Eve Tree Shopping_.”

“Oh yeah?” Magnus raised an eyebrow. “What kind of incentive?” 

“Some hot, sweaty, delicious incentive that involves you bent over the couch in…” he trailed off as his eyes wandered away from Magnus’ devastatingly perfect face for half a second, catching sight of something that had them widening minutely, before finishing with a smirk, “in front of the perfect Christmas tree I’m about to cut down.”

He watched with satisfaction, and some slight tightening of his pants, as Magnus’ eyes darkened, and he shifted on his feet. The potent, heady scent of Magnus’ arousal reached his nose, his nostrils flaring and his instincts screamed at him to shove Magnus up against the nearest tree and give them what they both wanted. 

“Wait…” Magnus paused and shook his head, his eyes sharpening again. “What’s this about cutting down a tree? I told you darling, it has to be absolutely perf- wait Alexander! Stop what are you doi-Oh!” He gasped as Alec strode up to him and spun him around and wound his arms around his waist. 

“What about that one,” he breathed into Magnus’ ear. The tree in front of them was almost twice Alec’s height, so probably about ten or twelve feet high, meaning it wouldn’t look ridiculous in the high-ceilinged loft in front of the floor to ceiling windows Magnus had decided it would be put in front of. It was wide enough around to be grand and fit all of their ornaments without looking goofily wide. There wasn’t a hint of any color other than the perfect dark green of a healthy fir tree on its needles, and one look at it had Alec envisioning it decorated in the hues of gold and red that Magnus had bedecked the loft in, and which characterized many of their ball ornaments. 

Magnus gasped and he held his hands close, sinking into Alec’s chest as they stood together in front of it, no doubt both picturing the perfect Christmas that it would help them create with each other. Alec couldn’t help the shocked laugh that burst forth when the perfect moment was made even more incredible as a light, almost ethereal snow began to float down from the sky, leaving a thin, gleaming white dusting across the boughs of the tree in front of them. 

“It’s perfect,” Magnus murmured, bringing the bare hand that Alec had yet to re-glove up to his mouth and imparting an adoring kiss onto his palm before pressing it into his cheek and leaning into the touch. 

Alec tucked his chin onto Magnus’ shoulder and nuzzled into his neck, his eyelids fluttering closed as he worked to impress this quiet, achingly perfect moment into his memory, “yes,” he whispered, “it is.”

***

“You were right, it’s perfect,” Alec called out with a sigh as he collapsed onto the sofa in the strategically rearranged living room so that both the roaring fire in the large stone fireplace and the window-flanked heavily decorated tree were directly in sight. 

The tree was practically dripping with lights, tinsel and an ornament collection that spanned 17 years, and every continent on the globe- Antarctica included. 

“I told you,” Magnus gloated as he stepped back into the living room, a silver tray in his hands bearing a plate of meticulously decorated Christmas cookies and two cups of steaming cocoa, each heaped with whipped cream and marshmallows. 

“You were right, not that I’m surprised,” he grinned, taking the platter from Magnus’ hands and setting it on the glass table next to the arm of the couch. Magnus waved his hand and the huge burgundy Sherpa blanket that he favored appeared in his hand, clearly stolen from the foot of their bed. Alec turned and leaned his back against the high arm of the couch, legs spread out in front of him and parted slightly to leave a Magnus sized space in the middle of them. 

He patted the empty space in between his legs and his Omega eagerly climbed in, dragging the blanket with him and settling effortlessly in Alec’s lap, his smaller body curled into Alec’s bigger one. He’d positioned himself so he was snuggled into his chest, his legs thrown over Alec’s leg and his arms around his waist, holding him close. 

He felt any lingering stress from recent weeks fall away as his senses honed in all things Magnus. They had on their matching Christmas pajama pants, but neither wore a shirt, both preferring to go without one when they slept- a habit which carried it’s way into most other times it was just the two of them at home. So, he could feel the warm, soft skin of his mate pressed against him, the fragrant scent of it just as tempting as the solid muscle he knew was lying just beneath it. He nosed into the soft hair that fell product-free across his makeup-less face and felt the familiar pull of privilege and possessiveness at knowing that he was the only person that ever get to see this equally beautiful and mesmerizing side of his husband. 

Magnus pulled back slightly, his arms still loosely wrapped around Alec as he ran his lips down the side of his jaw. Alec let out a small growl at his Omega’s mouth’s actions as his blunt nails simultaneously scraped gently across the muscles of his back. “Alpha,” he whispered, his voice raspy and brimming with emotion. Alec palmed his ass before lifting him up and bodily shifting him so that Magnus was straddling his waist, his mind clearing immediately from the lust-induced fog as his Omega gasped sharply and breathed out a “No!”

“Magnus?” He pulled back quickly, clearly completely misinterpreting where _that_ was going and feeling overwhelmingly guilty both at having made an assumption that Magnus clearly didn’t want, as well as the feeling of rejection that washed through him. The sweet, comforting smell of their combined scents that usually hovered in the air of their home turned somewhat sour as his rejection and guilt washed through it. 

“Oh Alexander, I’m sorry. Alpha, I wasn’t rejecting you,” Magnus was quick to comfort, wrapping his arms around Alec’s neck and guiding his face gently to his own throat, as he sent waves of love and adoration out, quickly sweetening the smell of the room and overpowering any less than pleasant scents that had quickly darkened it. “I want that, honestly I do. I always want you Alpha, you know that. I just…” he cleared his throat, “I need to talk to you.”

His averted his eyes from Alec’s confused hazel stare, dropping his pants to play with the ties of Alec’s flannel pants. “What is it Mags?” He asked, not sure where this was going or why his omega suddenly seemed so unsure around him.

“Do you remember when I finally admitted that I wanted a forever with you?” Magnus asked, his voice barely discernable it was so quiet. 

“Of course I do, it was simultaneously one of the best and worst days of my life. You’d grown so closed off and withdrawn in the days leading up to it, I thought you were breaking up with me,” he chuckled, his lips pressing against Magnus’ temple. 

“But really I was just terrified that you wouldn’t want me. That you would hate me because our happily ever after meant that you would become immortal and lose your mortality- a fundamental part of who you are.”

“Who I was,” Alec corrected, with a slight frown, not sure where this was going or why Magnus’ tone had grown so…strained. “You do know I don’t regret it, right? Choosing a future with you was one of the easiest, and best decisions that I’ve ever made.”

Magnus gifted him with a small smile that did nothing to ease his concerns when he burrowed back into Alec’s chest and took a deep breath before tentatively asking, “Do you remember what else you said to me that tonight?”

Alec wracked his brain for something he could’ve said that night that would have Magnus this vulnerable, even after 15 years of marriage. And then it hit him, and he had to suppress a growl at his own self-loathing, his own stupidity and selfless disregard for his Omega’s feelings. Because he remembered exactly what he said that night. 

_Magnus I want everything with you too. All of it. I want to claim you, knot you and mark you so that everyone knows we belong together. But I want so much more than that. I want an eternity with you. I want to see you walk down the aisle, and hold you in my arms when we have our first dance. I want to be there as you grow to become the most powerful warlock in history. I want to change the world with you, to build a better one for the pups I want to one day have with you. I want to make a family with you omega, a big beautiful family of our own, that we can love and cherish and spoil. And then I want to watch them grow, and find their own mates and their own happily ever afters. And I want to do it all with you. I want everything with you, Magnus Bane. My Omega. My true mate._

Of course. 

He pressed his eyes closed. 

Pups. 

They’d first talked about it almost five years ago now, he’d hesitantly brought it up and Magnus’ smile had been bright enough to power the entirety of New York for a month. And that night, Magnus had stopped taking his contraceptive potion and they’d shared some incredible heats together. Some of the things that Alec had said during them still made his cheeks heat as he recalled how desperately they’d both wanted to Magnus to become pregnant. 

But the excitement and light had faded as three heats passed with no results, and then five, and before they knew it three years had gone by and nothing. It was uncommon for it to take more than one or two heats for an Alpha/Omega pair to conceive. And when they’d scheduled an appointment, they’d been devastated to learn that the heat suppressants that Magnus had been on after he’d been with Camille had basically decimated his uterus. Alec had spent every day telling Magnus it was okay, that although he would have loved to have pups of their own, it didn’t matter to him that Magnus couldn’t carry them. They could make a family of their own in other ways. But it had taken almost eight months before he’d finally managed to convince Magnus that just because he couldn’t conceive didn’t mean he was broken, or a failure, or a disappointing Omega. 

Magnus had promptly shut down any and all talk of a family and hadn’t one brought it up since then. Not being able to bear what he believed would be Alec’s disappointment at his shortcomings. 

Even though there was not so much as a molecule of Alec’s being that believed Magnus was anything less than perfect. Scarred uterus or not. 

And then two months ago Izzy had confided in him that her and her mate, Simon, were pregnant. And all his dreams, of _their_ dreams for a family had come rushing back in full force. So, he’d done a bit of research on all the ways that he and Magnus could have their own family. Surrogacy, adoption, in vitro- you name it, he had found it and begun compiling the information. Hoping to one day take it to Magnus and re-open the subject between them. 

Because he _knew_ without a doubt, that Magnus would be an incredible father. And they had so much love to give, it was only right that they have more people to share it with. But he hadn’t planned on broaching the topic for at least a year or two. Magnus must have found his search history and taken it the wrong way. 

He swallowed and the fingers that he’d been carding through Magnus’ hair stilled, pulling away slightly so he could look at his omega as he gently asked, “Magnus, are you referring to how I told you I wanted to build a family with you?”

Magnus hesitated before nodding as glamour dropped, which it often did when he was overcome with emotion, and allowed himself to be vulnerable enough in Alec’s presence not to fight to keep it in place. His husband reached a tentative hand out to his cheek and traced down the arch of his cheekbone before brushing over the cupid’s bow above his lips as his bright eyes bored into Alec’s. “You haven’t brought it up in almost a year.”

Alec’s eyes fluttered shut as he leaned into Magnus’ touch, not sure what the right answer in this scenario was. “I… I didn’t want to push. What we went through, what _you_ went through-” he broke off with a frustrated sigh and when he opened his eyes back up, drawing in strength from the warmth of Magnus’ hand against his face, he saw those gorgeous warlock eyes of his staring back and he took a moment to compose his thoughts before trying to continue, “I just love you so much Magnus. And there is nothing that will ever make me believe that you are anything less than my true mate. And I just couldn’t bear the thought of you thinking I was somehow disappointed in you.”

Magnus smiled softly and leaned forward to capture Alec’s mouth in an impossibly tender and yet searing kiss. “Alexander?”

“Magnus?”

“Is that still something you want?”

Alec drew back, his heart hammering wildly in his chest as he felt that tiny sliver of hope begin to take form into something much larger. “A family, you mean?” Unbelieving, first of all, that Magnus was bringing it up, and second of all that he could ever believe that that’s something Alec _wouldn’t_ want. 

Magnus nodded slowly as his hand dropped from Alec’s cheek to fiddle nervously with the drawstrings on his pajama pants.

Maybe Magnus had found his search history… and maybe… maybe he’d come to the same conclusion that Alec had. That just because they couldn’t have pups of their own didn’t mean they couldn’t have a family of their own. Grabbing Magnus’ hands in his own he brought them up to his lips, brushing featherlight kisses across his knuckles before holding them over his heart so Magnus could _feel_ the sincerity of his words. “Of course I do, I told you- I want everything with you my omega,” he whispered with unwavering conviction, holding his breath and scarcely being able to breathe with the pounding excitement and blinding hope that were beginning to take over at the thought of one day being cuddled up on this couch at Christmas with their _children_. A family of their own. 

Magnus bit his lip, the cautious vulnerably in his eyes giving way to something much brighter, something that had Alec’s entire being burning from the inside out. Magnus’ stunning swirling eyes were brimming with an excitement and joy that had Alec’s heart leaping higher. 

“In that case, my darling Alpha, I have a present for you.”

“But it’s not Christmas,” Alec stupidly blurted out, blushing when Magnus smiled fondly and ran his thumb over Alec’s mouth. 

“No, it’s not, but I can’t wait any longer.”

Alec sat up straight, his eyes glowing and a smile growing on his face as he ran through the list of possible “presents” that Magnus could be giving him following this conversation. Perhaps an adoption pamphlet? Or a list of potential surrogates? Maybe he had simply printed off some of the pages Alec had found as a way to show him that he was ready to take that next step.

His omega readjusted himself so that he was sitting cross-legged in Alec’s lap facing him. Eyes bright, Magnus leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his mouth that didn’t last long because Alec _couldn’t bring himself to drop the stupid giddy smile from his face._

Pulling back, Alec tried to reign in his patience as his husband studied him for a moment before taking a steadying breath and grinning ear to ear as a beautifully wrapped gift box appeared in his outstretched arm, Alec reached for it immediately, but Magnus held it just out of reach. 

“I love you, Alexander,” he murmured. 

“I love you too,” Alec pushed forward to plant a hard, brief kiss on Magnus mouth before whining and making grabbing motions with his hand towards the gift. “Comeon, gimme!”

“Very mature, Shadowhunter,” Magnus laughed as he handed over the present, tracking Alec’s movements as he set it down on Magnus’ lap in the space between them and stared down at it. 

And stared. 

And stared. 

And thought about what this box could mean them. 

And stared some more.

“By the angel you’re killing me Alpha, just open the damn thing,” Magnus muttered nervously after Raziel only knows how many minutes passed. 

Glancing up at Magnus, to see his eyes bright with nerves and cautious excitement, Alec turned his attention back to the shimmering gold and red box in front of him. He ran a trembling finger around the lip of the top and suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of unsteadiness wash through him. Continuing to trace the contours of the box with one hand, he set the other palm up on Magnus inner thigh, a silent request. When his Omega obliged, grasping his hand and threading their fingers together, he felt his mate’s strength and love pour through their bond, and with a deep breath, he opened the box. 

He gasped. 

And then every part of his body froze in shocked elation as he took in the singular content of the box. 

Half a second later the shock had receded, and a giddy joy had taken its place as he slowly reached into the box. 

He could feel Magnus’ eyes boring into him as he settled the unbelievably tiny slip of fabric into the palm of his overly large hand. 

Alec read the words sprawled across the front of the soft cotton onesie. 

_My daddies love me._

His eyes slammed shut as he tried to control the tide of emotions that were sweeping through him. Elation. Confusion. Disbelief. Nervousness. Happiness. Pure, unadulterated joy. And so much love. He could smell the confusion of emotions that were pouring out of his glands, no doubt overwhelming his mate. 

“Alpha?” The underlying tone of hesitant hope was masked by the soft, throaty overtone that hitched at the end of the word, giving way to the nerves his mate was feeling as he waited for some kind of reaction. 

“Magnus,” he breathed out, blinking his eyes open to stare at the fabric again before ripping his gaze away from it to stare into the unwaveringly bright eyes of his beautiful Omega.

“Magnus,” he repeated, a smile slowly turning up the still-shocked corners of his mouth as he reverently set down the tiny bit of clothing and reached forward to cup his husband’s face in his hands and bring it closer, so their foreheads were leaning against each other. “Are we going to adopt a baby?”

His smile faltered somewhat when Magnus shook his head and murmured against his mouth, “no.”

“In vitro?” He asked his hands sliding down the soft silk of Magnus’ bare torso to settle on his hips, causing a shiver to run through his lover’s body that had him fighting a smirk.

“Darling if I couldn’t conceive because I couldn’t carry a child, that wouldn’t be an option.”

“Oh,” The corners of his mouth dropped where they still hovered against Magnus’ ever so slightly, before lifting up again, “You want to get a surrogate?”

“Wrong again,” his lips danced lightly over Alec’s as Magnus repositioned the hands on his hips so that one of Alec’s large, warm hands was pressed into the small of his back, the other the ridges of his ab muscles. 

This time Alec did frown, his hopes falling and the disappointment beginning to take root, unsure of what other options were available, “Magnus, I don’t understand.”

“Alexander…” Magnus paused, his tongue darting out to lick his hips while one hand automatically reached for the silver ear cuff he wore to fiddle with it. 

“I’m pregnant.” 

Alec heard a roaring in his head as the entire world disappeared, the only thing in existence that mattered being the man sitting in front of him. 

“You’re…” he trailed off and blinked. His hands tightened were they were holding onto his Omega as mind-numbing and giddy happiness begin to spread through him as Magnus’ words registered.

His voice came out awed, “you’re pregnant?”

Magnus nodded and a nervous smile spread across his picture-perfect features. Alec ‘s eyes darted across those features that he loved so much. The ones he’d grown accustomed to falling asleep to, and waking up to. The unearthly beautiful face that somehow belonged to _his true mate_. He scanned the face that he knew without a doubt, he would never again be able to live without. 

Flawless golden caramel skin, smooth as silk and unblemished due to a rigorously kept facial routine. Those unglamoured, yellow-golden slitted cat eyes that he loved with every fibre of his being, and which, to his immense pride, Magnus had stopped glamouring at all in the privacy of their home about 12 years ago. High cheekbones, usually dusted with gold, but soft and clean right now, and a jaw that could cut glass. His lips were plush and soft and tempting as always and the goatee he’d taken to wearing lately only drew attention to his mouth’s perfection. 

His eyes dropped to the gorgeously defined stomach muscles that made up the abs that he simply adored tracing with his tongue. Abs that would no doubt soften as Magnus’ flat stomach would slowly round out and begin to grow over the next nine months because… because Magnus was pregnant. 

Magnus was pregnant. 

Holy shit. Magnus was pregnant.

“With a pup?”

“With _our_ pup Alpha,” his mate whispered, encouraging the hand that he’d pressed against his stomach to press forward with a tiny bit more pressure. 

“By the angel,” he murmured, shooting up and off the couch, staring down at Magnus before pacing the room restlessly and stopping in front of him again to confirm it. Still unbelieving that this moment was real. He kneeled in front of his Omega and pressed his hand back to Magnus’ stomach, his voice coming out higher than he’d ever heard it, “we’re pregnant?” 

“We’re pregnant my love,” Magnus responded, resting one hand over the one Alec had perched on his stomach, and reaching out to clasp their other hands together. 

Alec clutched it like a lifeline as his world came tumbling down and everything that he’d ever hoped for, everything that 20 years ago, he never even dared to wish for, became an even brighter possibility because _Magnus was pregnant!_

“Oh my god you’re pregnant,” he paused before he was easily scooping Magnus off of the couch and spinning him in a circle laughing as he repeated it over, “you’re pregnant. We’re pregnant. Holy shit Magnus, you’re pregnant!” 

Magnus threw his head back with a delighted laugh, his arms wrapped around Alec’s neck and his legs around his waist as Alec spun them around again and again. The joy and love that he felt for his mate and their future simply couldn’t be contained and he clutched him tight, the spinning slowing down and fading into a subtle rocking back and forth as he held his world in his arms. Scattering kisses over every bit of skin he could reach, he murmured over and over again, “you’re pregnant,” in between each one, sometimes in shock, sometimes in disbelief, more often than not in absolute exaltation, relishing the way that Magnus melted against him. 

“We’re going to be dads,” Magnus whispered against his lips, eyes shining bright as he nuzzed against Alec’s cheek, turning his head to brush their noses together. 

“Fuck I can’t believe we’re going to have our own family,” Alec breathed, scarcely able to comprehend the adoration with which his Omega was gazing at him with. Magnus’ eyes were soft and tender and so unbelievably happy as smiled again, running his nose down the side of Alec’s face and dropping his head to tuck himself into Alec’s neck, tickling his throat with the soft puffs of breath as Magnus tightened the hold he had on his Alpha.

Eventually he dropped them both back onto the couch, immediately pulling Magnus back into his lap and cradling him in his arms and basking in the sweet bright scents that were emanating in the room. Magnus cocked his head, baring his neck for Alec who gladly breathed in the familiar scent before- 

“Oh my god it’s the pup!”

“What?”

“The vanilla! I’ve been picking it up in your scent for a while now- it’s our pup. Oh my god Mags, I’ve been scenting our pup and I had no idea!” 

“Oh Alpha,” Magnus sighed lovingly, “I wa-“ whatever he was going to say was cut off with a curious chuckle when Alec pushed him back, so he was lying on his back, nestled into the corner of the couch. Alec crawled up onto his knees and between Magnus’ spread legs, to hover over Magnus’ lower stomach. Leaning in, he pressed a kiss where their _pup_ , their baby, their child- was growing inside of his heart wrenchingly perfect mate. A low growl ripped from his throat as his protective instincts flared up with the desire to keep both his Omega and their baby safe. He felt Magnus’ soft hand run tenderly down his back and the tender touch calmed him immediately. 

He pressed his cheek to Magnus’ hips, and ran his hands reverently over the muscles that he knew would began to soften, and then eventually disappear when his stomach would begin to round out as their pup grew. He pressed a kiss to the skin, the smile that he couldn’t seem to shake growing bigger at the thought of being able to help his Omega through his pregnancy. At the realization that somehow, despite everything, Magnus was pregnant. And they would be able to experience everything together. Alec felt himself relaxing further into bone deep contentment as Magnus began to card his fingers through his hair.

“Tell me how?” He asked after a few moments of quiet shared adoration, still unsure that this was even real, that he wasn’t dreaming. 

“After that appointment, when…” Magnus trailed off and Alec pressed another kiss to his stomach tilting his chin up so he could look at his mate as he spoke.

“When we found out about your scarring?” He prompted gently, soothing his hand across the broad plane of his stomach and back again, emitting a comforting scent that he knew would help his Omega.

“Yeah. I was in a bad place, you know that. But you, my Angel given Alpha, you made sure that there wasn’t a single moment where I ever doubted how much you love me.”

Alec felt the ache in his heart, the all-encompassing satisfaction knowing that he’d been able to protect and make sure his Omega knew how much he was loved and needed and treasured. “Good, because I love you no matter what, baby.”

“I know darling, I know,” Magnus reassured, “and I love you so much, and just like you- there is nothing I want more than to have a family with you. It’s not something I’d ever even considered for myself before I met you. And then there you were- and suddenly I wanted every single thing life could possibly give me. And more so, I wanted it all with you. So, after we found out… and after I realized that despite the pain and the disappointment we still felt- you’re feelings hadn’t changed, would never change- I went to Caterina. And it took quite some time obviously and… well I won’t go into all the details tonight, but together we created a sort of fertility potion to repair the scarring in my uterus.”

“How long ago was this?” Alec furrowed his brow, knowing without a doubt that this was something Magnus had never once brought up with him. 

“Almost a year ago,” he responded softly, his finger gently curling strands of Alec’s hair in ringlets before releasing them to massage his fingers into his scalp. 

“Oh my Omega, why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Because I didn’t want you to be disappointed if they didn’t work,” Magnus’ eyes were shining and impossibly soft as he stared down at Alec, his eyes darting between Alec’s gaze and the spot on his stomach where Alec realized he had unconsciously been tracing the love rune over and over and over again. 

Alec opened his mouth, but Magnus was quick to jump in and steal the very words that were on the tip of his tongue. “I know that you love me no matter what, but that doesn’t mean I wanted to get your hopes up again only to have them dashed back down again if it turned out that they didn’t do anything.”

“So instead you dealt with it all yourself? Magnus I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you,” he rolled over and propped himself up on his arms to trail a series of kisses from his non-existent navel, up his chest, lapping lightly at both nipples and eliciting a low moan from his husband before moving up and across his collarbone and chin before finally capturing his Omega’s lush coconut glossed flavored lips in a deliciously warm, and toe-curvingly familiar kiss. He broke away to nuzzle into Magnus’ neck, breathing him in and focusing on the strong vanilla notes that he now knew existed because of the existence of their _pup_. Magnus pressed kiss after kiss to his hair giggling when Alec moved back down his body to blow a raspberry over his stomach.

Soothing his hands back over his mate’s stomach, he pressed another soft kiss to the skin. 

“Hi there little one. I’m one of your daddies and,” he paused and took a deep breath, blinking back tears as the reality of who he was speaking to hit him yet again. “And wow I love you so much more than you can possibly imagine. And your papa and I- we can’t wait to meet you, we’ve wanted you for so long. I promise we’ll do everything we can to give you the life you deserve it. So just be good, and don’t make things too hard on your papa because,” he had to stop to clear the tightening in his throat, “your papa… well he’s the strongest man I’ve ever met, so he’ll power through it, but that doesn’t mean he should have to. So take care of things in there, and I’ll take care of him out here and we’ll see you in a few months little one. Daddy and Papa love you.” He sealed his words with another kiss and when he looked up, Magnus was staring at him, eyes bright with love and adoration and rapture as he watched Alec with tears streaming down his face. 

Sitting back up he crawled closer and folded his large body in the space between Magnus’ chest and legs, and brushed away the tears silently as they continued to fall. Leaning forward he pressed kiss after soft kiss to his Omega’s mouth, murmuring sweet nothings between their mouths until the tears eventually slowed. 

Magnus sniffled and Alec waited patiently while Magnus tightened his arms around Alec, enclosing him in a circle of hope and promise that was seemingly never-ending. A perfect reflection of the future they had to look forward to together. 

Alec pulled away and watched the confusion flash in Magnus’ eyes. Moving to the other end of the couch he positioned himself comfortably and tucked discarded the blanket around him before holding it, and his arms open, “I need to hold you,” he admitted almost shyly, a low growl of contentment loosening from his throat when Magnus shook his head fondly and eagerly climbed into his arms.

“You know- this is why I got emotional at the Christmas tree farm today, why I was so insistent on having the perfect tree, and on going to pick one out in the first place.” 

“Because it’s our first Christmas as a family,” Alec added slowly, realization dawning as he recalled Magnus’ words and emotions earlier that day. 

Magnus nodded, “he might not be born yet but…”

“But he’s here,” Alec finished for him, his hand inexplicably drawn back to the soft skin of Magnus’ stomach. 

“And this time next year, we’ll be cuddled up on this couch on Christmas with our own pup,” Magnus mused reverently as his own fingers traced patterns over Alec’s arm. 

“How far along are you?” Alec asked. 

Magnus shook his head, “I don’t know, I assume about 5 weeks, it must have happened at the very end of my last heat.”

“Haven’t you… seen a doctor or anything?”

“Of course not darling, I mean Cat confirmed it for me, but I wasn’t going to go to our first appointment without you,” Magnus pointed out like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Like he couldn’t possibly fathom a situation wherein Alec wouldn’t be there for him every single step of the way. Like he knew, without a doubt, that they were in this together. And that- that made Alec’s smile grow even bigger.

That somewhere along the way, the incredible warlock curled in his arms, the man who had so much live to give, and who gave it so freely, and whom had once deemed himself to be so unlovable, no longer even thought to question Alec’s love and devotion and for him.

“You know,” Magnus mused, “I don’t think you’ve stopped smiling once in the last hour since I told you.”

“I think you’ll be hard pressed to see me not smiling at any point in the next 8 months,” he teased, ducking his head and kissing the strong muscle of Magnus’ pec. Realizing that those too, would begin to physically alter slightly to accommodate the production of milk to feed their pup. 

“I can’t wait to be there and experience everything with you, for forever” he whispered reverently. 

“Forever is a very long time, Alpha.”

“Well lucky for me I get to spend it with you and our family, my Omega.”

Magnus smiled softly and snuggled farther into Alec’s embrace, bringing his hand up to rest it over Alec’s own which had taken up permanent residence on Magnus’ stomach. Eventually Magnus’ breathing evened out and Alec’s own eyes fluttered shut, perfectly happy and content to spend the rest of his life holding his entire universe in his arms.

**Author's Note:**

> Drop me a comment or a kudos if you loved it! (Or even if you merely just enjoyed it!) I can promise you that writer's thrive off of positive feedback! xoxo my lovelies


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